Well plunger packing



Qct. 20, 1931. E. s. sLoAN WELL PLUNGER PACKING Filed June 21, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1- NVENTOR ZZBcYQan loan;

WITNE @@@w ATTORNEY Oct. 20, 1931. E. s. sLoAN WELL PLUNGER PACKING Filed June 21, 1929 2 sneeze-sheet 2 INVENTOR zgan 6. Lfloan,

WITNESS Z ATTORNEY Patented 0t.`2o,1931 i i o 'i' lgggpgg@ fx STATES ,teenies 'i l v l. i SLoAiv? yoi' SH.IIPPEiTvITiI.* LE,f :enti:Nssri-vANIAl f (l 'i y y i Y WELLl IfLNGER AGKiNG, i i y Appiigtitiitiei :rune 21, isti; seiii t'tzfit; Y

invention ielatesto deepwell plungers Fig. f2 is an enlagedffragmentary longi-A and more' particularly to an improved packe tudialv seetionfof the invention in thevvell ing'therefo. 'Y Y f ti'ibing;V Y object of the'present invention' is to pro# Fig'.` 8 is ar similar view showing therupperA y y75 vide-a Well plunger packing embodying a Cilportion of the invention;y v y p i eui'nfeentifally yieldable sleeve i 'linen Fig'. 4 isa' transverse section taken'fon t throughvvhic'h the plunger passes and is actline 4:'-4 of Fig. 2'; y Y I u'atedte'feet-a'sealvby the hydostatic pires-V ,Fig` 5 is a fragmentary'longitudinal see# s'uieo liquid eliirnii in the VWell tubing of tion of a niddic'ation of AVthe invention in.. d10 Wllngbarreh Qpeiativeposijtion in thefWell tubingl 60 .'Fiiithttthe)invention pfov-ides'a plunger Fig. 6 is i transverse StctittgiiiineyG-.Gw l n paekingftvlieeint'he sleeve'is arranged'to be (jfplgigggand v y* expanded against the Walls of thewe'll tublng ."`Fig. 7 is" a transverse seetion of anothery oi woiiking battiti totffett thettal ottoniiiodiiitiatioii of thepiickiiig: ,p

bddyg a ptit gtitoiicenttic Sleeves-,having welltubinge. jAii exteiiiiiy theade'd cellar', .i

if@ titiistfseiy ttifiigiitiiesleeves. .A litige-i'liquidiitmiiowiiigtatkirito the weil 7 Y30 peijistitt tot' f the latter;

eiitfso` that'theyvvll expander cbntiaetand Yjenandis formed with a nut/8 fer the pui'pose aaig'ecl in theii" slits out 'of fi'egistfratien` offemo'vng orfapplying' the collar to thek Thusfthe Walls of one sleeve will seal theSlits *plungenj y i, ,l A Y `1 Y fththe t prveijfthe; passage f liquidf- Y A packing isfpovide'd fer*V preventing the I "Stillqaothei bjeeti' `the invention is tO is' expanded tvtightlyengage the Walls povdealseladjusting packing vvhi'ehis alfV ofthe fvvoking baifi'e'l bythe weightfof the Ways h'eldftightliyfagainst inetalliesurfaee raised liquidelninnflhis paeling consists with' wliieh it 'coptt'ates landftlititty coniof 'an outer' resilient lette 9: and an inner l .Y eisilie'I-'it'sleevelifoined ofshe'et nietal hav- 80 Mj S?QCVLllythefinve4 tion enlblCS 2) ing high antifictinalfqualities The sleeve yeldbliiackng sleeve which extends subp-y gis 0f Such external 'diameter as to have tt st'tiiitially thee'ntii'e length ofv the Dlun'gei' and free sliding fit Within the vvking barrel and having' 2i lvel aifag'enent (5f-'slits' eXtedhas a, Substantially' greater ClQS'S-Stioal 'Ofthe'sleevebecgmeswom 0 Suc an eX en aconsiderablespacebetween the linterior of 'assage tB-lghiwhchlqud my (1min observed that theicombined cross-sectional V YWell'tubing; havingmy inve'ntirfl'iilfifppeiative` jQIQ-vi 'e'djn the lower eindof"`theffsleeve ,9 y Y threaded collar 7 to secure the packing to the well plunger.

To render the sleeves highly resilient so that they will be responsive to the hydrostatic pressure of the raised liquid they are provided with rows of spaced longitudinally alined slits 14. As particularly illustrated in Fig. 1 the slits are arranged inVA staggered relation around the sleeve so that all areas of the latter will be resilient. In other words the slits are arranged so that there will be no portion of the sleeves free from slits except the end portions of the outer sleeve y9. Thus all areas of the sleeves are'free to expand under the influence of the hydrostatic pressure.Y Moreover byinterrupting or spac-A ing the slits of each` row liquid is prevented from passing downwardly between the pack.- ing and lworking barrel. VThat is tov say, ii the slots 14 were continuous or. uninterrupted liquid would `have a tendency to How downwardly through the slits and pass back i into the well.

. The inner sleeve serves to prevent flow .l of liquid through the slots inthe outer sleeve 9 and for this purpose the slots 14 of the inner sleeve are located between eachtwo adjacent rows of slots in the outer sleeve so thatA a longitudinal section of the inner sleeve will bridge each row of slots in the outer sleeve. .Asfdisclosed inr'Figs. 2 and 3 the end slots 14 of theinner sleeve 10 extendl through the endsfofthegsle'eve so'as to increase the exi- Y bilityf the -packing at this point. y Howleveigthe ends ofthelouter sleeve 9 are unbroken or solid.y l Y "From theldescription thus far given itvfollows that oil or other liquid pumped through the 4plunger 5 andbuilding up within the working barrel above the plunger likewise builds upv between the exterior of the plunger and interior of the packing.v The weight or hydrostatic pressure of the liquid therefore expands the packing against the working barreland-producesa liquid seal between -6 the hydrostaticxpressure is utilized to con-- tract the packing about theplunger. In this in stance a bushing having an enlarged upperf end 16 r whichV engages` an internal seat V,17 `in the working barrel Gis provided. Y

, ,Af centralguide opening 18 is formed in the `bushing throughV whichV the plunger 5 foperates., Athe. latter having` a thimble 19V threaded upon its lowerend whichprevents the plunger from being withdrawn'from the bushing. A relatively thick inner sleeve 20.

having a slightly greater internal diameter thanl the externaldiameter of the plunger is received on thelatter and has its lower end threaded into the upper end of the opening 18 as at 21. An outer sleeve 22 ofmaterially Vless A cross-sectional thickness than the` sleeve 2() is snugly received on the latterV and has its endsjwelded or otherwise secured to the sleeve 20 asl at 23. The sleeves arev rendered resilient through the instrumentality of the in aninward'direction which causes thefin'rier sleeveV 20 vtol contract against kthe exterior ofthe plungerf, f i f y' j l Inthe modification disclosed-in Fig. 7. the packing is forined from aisingle length of sheet metal 24. In this construction the length of sheetmetal iswound Vu'poiiits'elf to' prog" vide. an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve 26, the ends ofthe sheet are feathered ortapered as at 27' so that the inner surface Vof the sleeve 25 and 'the outer surface of the sleeve -26wi1l be truly concentric. ATo hold the ,parts to# gethe'r, the longitudinal edges of the sheet are spot weldedor otherwise suitably secured to the'opposite faces vof. theJ sheet. Asin the other embodiments ofthe invention the slots 14-of the'two sleeves lare disposed innonv registering position and in thejmanufacture ofthe device the slits will be stamped in the sheet prior to winding the -llatterin Ytubular formation." Y s I" 5 Fromthe disclosure it will "be -manifest that I have provided an all metal packing for a well plunger which depends upon the'hy'dro staticspressurei'n the working barrel to eff fect a'li'quid tight seal around theplunger. V'Ihus the invention does away with the oversized pistons and cups nowje'rnployed, Aand is advantageous lover those devices depending upon'their inherent resiliency in that apositive seal is 'had by reason ofthe hydrostatic pressure operating'on thev resilient sleeve. `What is claimed is: H f 1.V :In combination a well plunger-,Qa pair 4of concentric metallic;.packing` sleeves encircling the plunger and, having ltheir upper ends Vopen and their lower end closed, each of the sleeves having rows' rof non-communicating slits to render the sleeves resilient. wherebyV hydrostatic4 pressure in the working barrel 'in' whichtheplunger'is Aoperating will at all times distort the sleevescircumferentially to eect a sealaroundthe plunger.Y

2.` In a well plunger packing a collar to be attached to the lower end of a'well plunger, an expansible metallic sleeve to be received onthe plunger and havingone `endfattached to the collar and closedby theflatterand having its upper end open so that liquid in the Y,

working barrel will enter between the sleeve and plunger and at all times expand the sleeve against the Walls of the working barrel.

3. In combination, a well plunger, afcollar attached to the lower end thereoa metallic expansible sleeve encircling the plunger in spaced relation thereto and having its lower end attached to the collar `and closed by the latter so that a column of liquid will always.y

be maintained between the plunger andthe sleeve to at all times expand the same against 'the walls of the working barrel.

4. In combination a well plunger, a pair of concentric metallic packing sleeves encircling' the plunger, each of the sleeves being proy vided with nonregistering slits to render them resilient, the inner sleeve being spaced from the plunger, and the outer sleevey hav# ing sliding it Within the vworking barrel in which the plunger is operating, and means for closing the lower ends of thesleeves so that liquid in the Working barrel will at all times exert radial pressure on the inner sleeve to orcethe outer sleeve into liquid tight engagement with the walls of the working barrel.

l ELGAN S. SLOAN.V 

